Chrono Trigger

Beyond the Ruins: Crono and his party are suddenly thrown into a strange world…

Out of the still blackness came a sudden gust of wind. Small granules of dirt flew from their resting places as the gust circulated a cramped room, billowing cobwebs and eventually throwing small pebbles in all directions from its wake. Slowly, a blue light began to appear in the form of a ball and the entire room was bathed in its pale rays. The dust continued to lift off the ground in messy clouds, pelting the fragile cobwebs that had begun to intertwine with one another. As the light grew bigger, three personages began to appear as dark silhouettes that clumsily stumbled forward. The strange visitors fell to the ground in an awkward heap, the light disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

And thus, our heroes had entered a world far more desolate than any other worlds to which their travels had led them…

The three untangled their appendages, trying their best to keep them from bumbling into any place they did not belong. Finally, they were able to stand on their own, looking about the cramped room with an introspective interest. Suddenly, Marle shrieked, startling the party, as she fretfully dusted a ball of cobwebs off her shoulder. Crono observed each and every corner in the room, even looking above him to see a ceiling covered in pipes and grates. Lucca was doing the same as well, being the first to voice what each of them had pondered.

"What is this place?"

It was a very odd in which they stood. It was made completely of metal and cement which the group detested, having never seen such a thing. Also, strange conduits accompanied with various meters covered the walls so that it almost seemed ludicrously gaudy. While the rest of the group contented themselves to stare about their surroundings, Lucca happened to spot something that had greatly aroused her attention. She walked towards a strange door that stood to their backs, but this door was unlike any she had ever seen.

The door itself had no handle. It puzzled her why anyone would build a door with no handle, but she was also surprised to see blue lights coursing across the face of its metallic exterior. With a finger, she traced the light and withdrew it quickly with an audible gasp. Crono and Marle turned to face her and quickly went to her side. "What is it, Lucca? Did you find something?"

"How is it doing this?"

Crono and Marle looked at each with confused glances while Lucca slowly put her finger forward once again, gracing the shaft of blue light. It was then that Crono and Marle understood what she had meant, seeing that her finger was not coursing over the light, but within the beam of light itself. They leaned closer to hear a pleasant hum coming from the beam that sounded very much like an electrical current.

"What is this stuff?" Crono asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"You don't remember? It's UGEE!" Lucca replied as if she could not believe it herself.

"Well, why are you staring at it?" Marle asked.

"Because all energy, including UGEE, cannot be used to power anything unless there is a conductor, or something to guide the voltage! But look! There is nothing here! It's coursing by itself!"

Crono smirked as he said, "And the big deal is…"

"The big deal is that doing such a thing is considered impossible!" Lucca muttered as if she were agitated.

"So what does that mean?" Marle asked, putting a finger to her chin.

"It means that we are in a world that is far more advanced than our own if they can deny the very laws of physics…"

Lucca seemed as if she could stare at that same door for hours, tying vainly to contemplate how such a thing could be done, but she felt a tug on the back of her shirt which impeded her thoughts. She spun around to see Crono looking down at her, "Well, we won't be able to find out how they did it unless someone tells us, right? Maybe we can find somebody that can explain where we are."

"I suppose so." Lucca replied inattentively, sounding as if she would rather stay.

The three turned about to see a door opposing the one they inspected. They approached it cautiously, undecided as to what would be on the other side. To their horror and surprise, the door slid upward by itself! They jumped back, half-expecting to see someone approaching them from the other side. They were relieved when nobody came, and the door closed on its own accord. It was Marle who recognized before the others what its function was.

"It's a door that can open on its own! Wow! How amazing!"

She began to step forward and backward, laughing in amusement as the door ascended and descended with each pace. Crono and Lucca looked at each other with perplexed smiles as their future ruler continued to content herself with her most recent toy. After a few minutes of watching her childlike incredulity, they intervened and allowed themselves to advance through the door, earning a diminutive pout from the princess.

"Honestly, how lazy can the inhabitants of this world be when they can't open a door by themselves?" Lucca mused.

They passed through the entrance, hearing the wheeze of a hydraulic pump as the door closed behind them. They had entered an area far bigger than the one they had just left and it was full of the most incredible things they had ever seen. It almost seemed as if Lucca would burst from the inside from all the excitement that slammed into her at once. Her hands instinctively rose to her chest with a startled gasp of surprise and pleasure. She immediately ran towards the conveyor belts that lined the room, each with several pieces of strange machinery, each piece being separated by the same distance. "Incredible! In this world the people has invented machines to work for them!" She breathed rapidly as she held several machine parts in her hands, turning them over and admiring the intricacy of their design.

"So these people really are lazy, are they?" Crono asked with an air of nonchalance, being slightly irked by her obsession.

"No, no! Not at all! They are brilliant! A society who can make such a machine that is as precise as human hands must be ingenious!" she said, while holding aloft a plate full of engravings. Crono rolled his eyes and smiled as she spun around as if she were a dancer. While his dream of becoming a knight was his greatest ambition, her dream of being a masterful inventor belonged to her and he did not wish to interfere with her dream as long as she did interfere with his. "This has always been my dream to bring about a society as advanced as this! I wonder what kind of people inhabits this world!" She looked around curiously.

Crono shrugged, "Well that was what we were planning on, am I wrong?"

Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense, at least it did to Lucca, as she spotted a large generator in the distance. She walked towards it and smiled brightly while dusting off its controls. "Well, this is the reason why it's so dark and gloomy in here! There's no power!" Crono and Marle were about to raise their hands in protest, but were cut abruptly short as an audible click echoed throughout the room. There was another silence, followed by another click, followed by another and another until Lucca sighed in disappointment.

"This building must be condemned or the power has been cut off."

"Let's go outside and see already!" Marle half-growled in response.

Lucca conceded, now having a fuller reason to explore this strange new world. She joined her friends once again and they began their search for the exit. As they progressed they saw more and more evidence of the advancements in this world compared to their own. It was incredible enough to make Crono appreciate science and see the possibilities behind the magic of engineering. There were machines designed to carry large loads; far larger than an ordinary human could handle. There were steels and metals far sharper and more solid than anything either of them had ever seen or felt. There were machines that could assemble complicated tools in the matter of moments. It almost seemed as if there was a machine for every conceivable task.

"If they could defy the laws of physics, do you think it's possible that have machines that could fly?" Marle asked excitedly, evidently catching a bit of Lucca's spirit.

Crono partially laughed, but sounded unsure of himself, "That can't be possible, could it?"

"Not necessarily," Lucca replied with a smirk, "I wouldn't be surprised if they had transportation machines everywhere like I did at the fair!"

They were only further fueled by excited inquisitiveness to explore the outside world and leave this dismal place behind. They looked about, hoping to see some door that would led them to what they supposed would be euphoria. Finally, the group stood in front of a door that had a sign above it that had once been lighted in a greenish color. The word of the sign was simple and immediately put the point across: Exit.

"Are you guys ready to see what lies past here?" Crono asked, putting his weight against the door.

They chastised him for asking such a ridiculous question, yet nodded immediately in their response. Crono smiled as he twisted the only door handle in the whole factory, closing his eyes before shoving the door open. The cold winds of this advanced world beat against the trio as they would partake of their first glimpse. Crono could hear the awe-stricken gasps of the girls and smiled as he opened his own eyes. Unfortunately, the girls had taken in their breath sharply for a reason other than amazement. The reader might suppose why the author explained that they had set foot into the most dismal part of their journey yet they were excited at the same time. The answer is simple. They did not realize that the whole world would be exactly like the gloomy factory that they left behind: dark, barren, and empty.

With hearts devoid of any hope for encountering worthwhile memories, the party gazed over the depressing landscape. The sky was not bright and cheerful as they imagined, but was dark and ominous with the hints of unyielding storms brewing within its billowing clouds. Strewn all around them were broken cement streets with dented lamps that were taller and far different than the ones in their world. Large buildings, maybe even larger than the castle itself, were toppled, several of the bases still standing with numerous bars jutting from its concrete casing. The most horrible of it all was the bizarre earth which lay at their feet. The earth itself was a dark red with some granules as dark as ash, almost as if the earth itself was burnt. As they looked over the wasteland that once had been a beautiful city, they could only restate the question they had asked earlier, only this time it was far more solemn and none truly held a desire to learn the answer…

"What is this place?"

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I want to thank all those that reviewed my story. I like to be true to my word, so whoever had reviewed my story and given any kind of input (be it positive or negative) I will be more than happy to review your stories in return. I only hope you realize that I will be honest in my suggestions, so I hope that all you feel the same! If there is anything that seems overly cliché or poorly done, I would like to know about it! Anyways, I want to give thanks to a few people that have been a good help to me!

Kit Thespian: You always give me a feeling of pride with your constant reviews and compliments! I always enjoy hearing your reviews! Also, I enjoy reading your stories! If any of you enjoyed this story, I imagine that you will enjoy her story as well. "Up a Tree house." It's good, funny stuff with a charged storyline that brings a good amount of emotion which you would never expect with the name of the title. 

Locuster: I have held his review of my other Crono story in high esteem, and I intend to do so with every criticism. This is a man who knows what he's talking about. He is a hard-core storywriter and editor, and if you felt that my story was vivid and painted, you should see his work, "The Crono Trigger". It is easily the most inventive Crono story I have read thus far. If you are lucky enough to merit a criticism from him, be thankful. I have benefited rather well from his suggestions. I dare you to find an error in his work…Go on…try it!

Also, just to let you guys know, Locuster gave me the will to revamp some stories, so if you want, I will let everyone know when I upload changes or replace chapters. Meanwhile, please continue to let me know if Magus will live or die! His life rests in your hands! Mwa-ha-ha!